We chose our Top 11 mobile phone insurance providers based on their ratings by an independent financial services review site, as well as their customer reviews from sites like Review Centre and Trust Pilot. We also took into accounts any awards the companies have won.

Best Mobile Phone Insurance Comparison Table

In the table below we compare the features of some of the best mobile phone insurance companies, including theft and loss cover, as well as their levels of excess. All of the policies in our top 11 mobile insurance list include accidental damage cover.

It's important to consider the excess, this is the amount you will have pay if you make a claim. Although most of the insurers in the table below have similar excesses, there's still a big difference between £25 and £75, especially if you're getting cover for a cheaper phone.

Mobile Phone Insurance Reviews

Insurance2Go mobile phone insurance review

Insurance2Go offers two tiers of cover: Standard and Full - the information in our table is based on Insurance2Go's Full cover. Insurance2Go will cover accidental damage, loss and theft in the Full cover. Unauthorised use is included for up to £1,000 in the Full policy. IPhones have to be covered on a separate iPhone policy.

Insurance2Go's mobile phone insurance is rated 5 stars by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits'. On customer review site Trustpilot, Insurance2Go currently has a 8.6/10 rating for its mobile phone insurance, based on over 3,000 reviews.

Gadget Cover mobile phone insurance review

Gadget Cover is a small UK company, offering insurance for phones, laptops and other gadgets. Its mobile phone insurance protects phones against theft, accidental damage, breakdown and unauthorised use, with loss cover as an additional extra.

Gadget Cover mobile phone insurance is rated 5 stars by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits'. On customer review site Trustpilot, Gadget Cover has a 6.3/10 rating for its mobile phone insurance, based on hundreds of reviews.

Switched On mobile phone insurance is rated 5 Stars by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits'. It has a score of 4 out of 5 on Feefo based on over 130 reviews in the past year.

Gadget Buddy mobile phone insurance review

Gadget Buddy mobile phone insurance offers cover against accidental damage, breakdown and unauthorised use, but doesn't include theft and loss on its Bronze cover as standard. Silver includes cover against theft as standard and Gold, Gadget Buddy's most comprehensive policy, includes cover against both theft and loss as standard.

Barclays Tech Pack mobile phone insurance review

Barclays Tech Pack is available as an add-on to a Barclays bank account and is administered by the Lifestyle Services Group Limited. For £9.50 a month (previously £7.50), Barclays Tech Pack covers gadgets worth up to £1,500 against loss, theft, breakdown and accidental damage. However, Barclays will only allow a maximum of two successful claims in any 12-month period.

Usefully, Barclays doesn't vary the price of its cover depending on the value of your phone - so if you had a top-of-the-range iPhone 7 you'd pay the same each month as if you had a Samsung Galaxy. One of the best things about Barclays mobile phone insurance is that it will let you add up to four phones on one policy, with each phone worth up to £1000.

Barclays mobile phone insurance is rated 5 stars by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits'.

Natwest mobile phone insurance review

Natwest's mobile phone insurance comes as a freebie with its Reward Silver, Platinum and Black current accounts. It offers worldwide cover for loss, theft and accidental damage.

Like Barclays, Natwest will only allow a maximum of two successful claims in any 12-month period, unless you have a Black account, in which case this increases to four.

Natwest's mobile phone cover is underwritten by Aviva.

Natwest's mobile phone insurance is rated 5 stars by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits'.

Nationwide mobile phone insurance review

Nationwide's mobile phone insurance is available as a freebie as part of its FlexPlus account. It offers worldwide cover for loss, theft, accidental damage, breakdown and unauthorised use.

Like Barclays, insurance from Nationwide is administered by the Lifestyle Services Group Limited. Nationwide will only allow a maximum of two successful claims in any 12-month period.

Nationwide doesn't require you to register your phone to get cover. It will also cover family members who live at the same address as you, and there is no limit on the number of phones you can register.

Nationwide mobile phone insurance is rated 5 stars by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits'. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any customer reviews.

i-Digital mobile phone insurance review

i-Digital offers three tiers of cover: Essential, Essential Plus, and Premier. i-Digital will cover mobile phones against theft, accidental damage and breakdown under all three tiers, with loss cover available under Essential Plus and Premier.

The maximum cover amount varies depending on the tier: Essential will only cover phones worth up to £500, so if your phone is more expensive than that you might want to get a more comprehensive cover; Essential Plus increases this to £850, and Premier offers the most at £1,000. Unauthorised use cover is only included under Premier cover, and will cover fraudulent calls up to a limit of £1,000.

i-Digital mobile phone insurance is rated 3 Star by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'a product with a good level of features and benefits'.

Halifax mobile phone insurance review

Halifax mobile phone insurance is available as a freebie as part of its Ultimate Reward Current Account. It offers cover for loss, theft, accidental damage and breakdown.

Like Barclays and Natwest, Halifax doesn't vary the price of its cover depending on the value of your phone - so if you had a top-of-the-range iPhone 7 you'd pay the same each month as if you had a Samsung Galaxy. It will also let you insure two phones under a joint account, potentially offering a two-for-one discount.

Halifax has quite a high excess for loss or theft of Apple iPhones - £100 compared to £30 for all other phones.

Halifax mobile phone insurance is rated 4 Star by independent review site Defaqto, making it 'a product with a good level of features and benefits'. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any customer reviews.

Geek Squad mobile phone insurance review

Carphone Warehouse's mobile phone insurance Geek Squad protects phones against loss, theft, breakdown and accidental damage. It also covers unauthorised use up to £10,000 - the highest amount out of our list of the best mobile phone insurers.

It's one of the few, non-network provider insurers to offer next-day replacements.

Geek Squad mobile phone cover is underwritten by Aviva.

More mobile insurance reviews coming soon:

We plan to add reviews of insurance companies that have recently been added to our top 11 or have recently launched including Trusted Insurances, Debenhams, Row.co.uk, Hiccup, So-Sure and ZugarZnap.

Cover from your network provider - is it worth it?

Cover from your network provider is easy to get, as long as you apply for it within a short time of buying your phone. And many providers will offer it to you when you're in the shop or on the phone with them.

One major plus about this kind of mobile phone insurance is the speed at which a damaged, lost or stolen phone gets replaced – almost all of the providers we looked at said they’d replace the mobile within 24 hours or the next day.

However, the speed of replacement comes at a cost because insurance from your network provider is often more expensive than from other companies.

So, it depends on your priorities. If the thought of being without a phone for more than a few hours is unimaginable, you may want to consider insurance from your network provider. But if you’d rather trade off a longer wait for cheaper premiums, have a look at our mobile phone insurance comparison.

Are you already covered under your home insurance?

Home insurance policies sometimes include mobile phones as part of your contents cover, which means that your phone could already be covered for theft from the home, or if there’s a fire. If you have accidental damage cover, your mobile may also be covered for accidental damage while it’s in your house, too.

However, it’s important to note that your phone won’t be covered while it’s out and about, unless you take out additional personal possessions cover (or if you already have it).

This probably won’t add too much to your premiums, but be aware that the excess might be higher than with a specialist mobile phone insurance policy, and you may lose any hard-earned no-claims discount if you make a claim.

Are you already covered by your bank account?

Banks often throw in freebies as incentives for their premier, paid bank accounts. Often, they include travel or mobile phone insurance, so if you have a paid-for current account, it’s worth checking whether you already have mobile phone insurance cover.

You sometimes have to register your phone with your bank for it to be covered – Barclays insist on this, for example. Natwest says that the phone will be automatically covered, but that registering it will help with the claims process. Don't forget to register a new phone if you upgrade handsets.

This kind of insurance is, in a way, free – you don’t have to pay extra, and if you use it, it might make your current account better value. One major money-saving plus is that if you have a joint account, it’s likely that two phones would be included in the price, potentially giving you a two-for-one discount.

Another positive is that, as it is a complimentary extra of your bank account the insurance is a freebie, and the make or model of your phone will not affect the price.

So, while the price of specialist mobile phone insurance varies by the type of phone, with iPhones and more expensive phones costing more, with insurance from your bank account you’d pay the same whether you have an iPhone 7 or a Samsung Galaxy.

However, there are often some policy limitations that you probably wouldn’t find in specialist mobile phone insurance. For example, Natwest will only cover you for two successful claims in a 12 month period.

Common exclusions - don't get caught out!

Mobile phone insurers have come under fire recently for having sneaky exclusions that many people think would be covered under a normal policy.

Make sure you read the small print of any policy documents to avoid getting caught out. These are some common exclusions and qualifications:

Theft – While you may think that ‘theft cover’ would protect your phone from all situations, some insurers specify that your mobile must be taken by force. So if it’s stolen from your back pocket while you’re at a concert, for example, you might not be covered

Reasonable care - Some companies may refuse your claim if you didn’t take ‘reasonable care’ of your gadget for a claim of loss or theft – this might translate to leaving your phone on a train, or in a coffee shop. Always check the small print of any policy to check what’s covered under ‘loss’

Your phone's age - Insurers sometimes take a hard-line, and won’t insure phones over six months or a year old. Insurance2Go, for example, will only insure phones that are under six-months old

Proof of purchase – Insurers will always need proof of purchase, in the form of a receipt or similar, before insuring your phone. This means that second-hand phones are unlikely to be covered, and you’ll definitely find it hard to get cover if you’ve lost your receipt

Delayed police report - Some insurers specify that you must tell the police if your phone is lost or stolen within a certain time. This is usually 24 hours, but sometimes can be as little as 12 hours

Water damage – While some insurers include water damage as part of accidental damage, some don’t, so if you’re prone to dropping your phone down the toilet, be sure to check the small print

By joining one of our groups for free, you’ll be coming together with other owners to secure a discount on your mobile phone insurance.

‘Can I get mobile phone cover if…?’

If you’re not sure whether you can get mobile phone insurance because of a specific situation, you might find it hard to get the answer from Google. Hopefully, we can answer some of your questions instead.

‘…it’s for my child?’

The short answer is no, probably not. Most insurance companies have a minimum age limit of 16, sometimes 18. However, Gadget Cover says that parents are welcome to purchase the policy for their child and then transfer it to their child's name when they turn 18.

‘…I have multiple phones to insure?’

Yes - and insurers often provide discounts when you insure multiple phones. Switched On Insurance offers a 10% discount when you insure two or more gadgets, and i-Digital gives you 10% off when you insure two gadgets, and 40% off when you insure three.

‘…it’s for my business phone?'

Insurance2Go offers business insurance for mobile phones and laptops with its sister company Square Pound Limited, and there are many specialist business phone insurers. However, this kind of insurance is unlikely to offer anything that standard mobile phone insurance doesn't.

Vodafone's business insurance, for example, offers protection against loss, theft, damage, and unauthorised calls - all of which are covered by most mobile phone insurance policies. Where it stands out is in its provision of a 'courtesy phone' in case yours is lost, stolen or damaged and you need to stay connected.

‘…I bought my phone on eBay?'

This depends. Some insurers, such as Insurance2Go, refuse to provide cover for phones bought on eBay, but there are some that will. Gadget Cover, for example, will insure mobiles purchased from eBay 'as long as they are purchased new and have a valid Proof of Purchase that includes the make, model and serial number of the electronic equipment (in your name)'.

‘…I’m a student?’

Yes - mobile phone insurance, unlike other types of insurance, does not change price depending on your employment or student status. However, specialist student insurer Endsleigh offers gadget cover for students as well as its contents cover for student rooms and housing.

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